Sinking ship

Casting for The Sound of Music at Cape Cod Melody Tent Lyric Opera of Chicago is now complete: “Billy Zane, star of James Cameron’s blockbuster Titanic and Broadway’s Chicago, cast as Captain von Trapp.”

58 comments

The major question is why a major opera company is doing SOUND OF MUSIC in a 3000 seat theatre. Dialogue in a large opera house always seems hammy, particularly bad dialogue and the miking is seldom as good as one gets at a Broadway musical. This is far from Rodgers best score, but it is questionable whether any of his scores belongs in a giant opera house. His best scores are better served by productions in smaller venues performed by good singing actors. Even as a box office decision, this seems lame. The show has just been on tv, albeit in a tacky production. Are folks who normally don’t go to the opera going to run there to see it? Are Lyric Opera fans dying to see it? Are Billy Zane fans (are there any?) dying to see him in THE SOUND OF MUSIC?
I’m a fan of good musicals, but not in opera houses.

Aren’t they supposed to be doing an opera of Bel Canto? I must be one of the few curmudgeons that didn’t like the book. I can’t believe among all those hostages and terrorists there wasn’t one person who hated opera.

LMAO good one Grane . I never read that book…I read Renee’s book in which she did talk about that Bel Canto book lol. The story seems plausible to me only if it were Renee in that situation and would thus be the one getting to sing to the terrorists. *On a good day* when she was in her prime I fully believe the effect of her voice could be that powerful. Now, if its someone like Danielle de Niese…well, it becomes less plausible at that point. Not that she isn’t a good singer or performer, a scenario of that nature (in which lives are at stake) requires exceptional talent imo.

Grane, I very much wanted to like the book but gave up reading it halfway through. The plot is intriguing, but I found the narration heavy-going and the characters one-dimensional. Maybe the second half of the book is much better. An operatic version has the potential to be much better than the book, provided the libretto is good. The plot development will be brisker and the score and theatrical interpretation can add interesting layers to the characters.

That’s a good point, Cicciabella. So much of the book consisted of people thinking about stuff. An opera will, of necessity, have to do away with all the narration. I think Patchett is a good writer, but there was just too much “writing!”

POPULAR DEMAND is a joke…….. tickets aren’t selling at all …… a third week was always planned. Just like OKLAHOMA!, thousands of tickets will be given away or heavily discounted. Rosina couldn’t be more accurate !!!

I believe Richard Beymer is still alive. Perhaps a comeback is in order.
I don’t think Spielberg can legally change the score or choreography in any way. That’s all tied up in the various estates. He could get a better Tony and Maria. Beymer’s Tony was tres gay. Perhaps he could find a way to make us believe that Tony was ever in a gang.

Note to musical lovers: All remaining tickets for tonight’s New York Philharmonic “Sweeney Todd” with Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel have been discounted at $75.00 for any and all locations. Just picked up a First Tier box for $77.50 with the facility charge tacked on. Get ‘em while they last.

The other two shows are not discounted -- yet. Also it is being filmed for television.

And this was a fantastic evening. It was entertaining staged and I don’t know that I’ve ever heard the score this well done.

Bryn Terfel had the presence, a great voice and that exciting half snarl. Emma Thompson was hilarious and had a mostly passable voice for the role. Audra McDonald was the surprise as the Beggar Woman, especially as that isn’t a very meaty part and she didn’t really get to belt her “City on fire!”

Beg to differ. Zane’s finest moment is while acting undraped (though not, alas, frontally) in 1989′s Dead Calm, when he forces (forces? yes, forces) Nicole Kidman to go down on him. True, if I were being held captive by a psycho on a yacht in the middle of nowhere, and in Nicole’s position, I’d have bitten it off, but no one would have had to force me.